What Happens n Mexico Stays in Mexico:The Jailbird
by Jack E. Peace
Summary: After Marissa over-doses on pain killers, no one is quite sure how to react. Holly Fisher makes the mistake of insulting Marissa and when Summer makes the mistake of beating up the girl, she winds up in jail.


Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.

A/N: Thanks for the great reviews for the last Mexico story, I really appreciate them. This is going to be the last installment of the Mexico series but I'm already planning a story taking place in The Vegas. This story is set after they find Marissa in the alley. So, keep those great reviews coming, you guys are great.

Summer Roberts' face was bathed in red and blue lights, creating a strange mask that did nothing to hide the tears that welled in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Seth Cohen stood beside her, his gaze shifting from her face to the scene before him, the scene that was the cause of Summer's tears. An ambulance and a handful of police cars brushed alongside of the curb in front of a nameless alleyway, the ally where they had discovered Marissa Cooper.

Seth could see Marissa now, laying motionless on a stark white gurney with Ryan Atwood standing beside her, ignoring the commands of the Mexican hospital employees to stand aside. Summer was watching her best friend as well, her breath frozen in her chest, hands clasped tightly together, praying that Marissa would wake up. _What happened to you, Marissa? _She thought. _Why did you do this? Why didn't you come to me? I could have helped you_. More tears trickled down her cheeks but Summer didn't bother to wipe them away.

Ryan was finally pushed away from the gurney as it was loaded into the back of the ambulance. Marissa remained still, with her arms hanging limply at her sides, a sorrowful but serene look on her face. Summer looked over at Ryan when he walked over to where she stood with Seth and he sighed. "She ODed on painkillers and alcohol." He explained, not looking at them as he spoke but instead staring into the back of the ambulance. "They think she'll be okay once they pump her stomach." Ryan didn't look like he believed she was going to be okay, however.

Summer exhaled and murmured, "Oh God," burying her face in her hands. "Marissa." Seth put his arm around her shoulders and she turned so that her face was against his chest, as though she didn't want to see anything more.

"She's going to be okay." Seth said, squeezing her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Don't worry." He spoke these words looking at Ryan but he could tell that his words did little to convince anyone. Marissa didn't look okay, she looked dead and that fact nearly tore his heart out; he had known Marissa for most of his life, she was the bitchy sister he had never had. This whole scene was too surreal, too impossible, to be anything but a dream.

The doors of the ambulance were slammed shut and Marissa was hidden from their sight. The ambulance team were currently talking with the police and Ryan couldn't figure out how answering questions they didn't know the answer to was more important then getting Marissa to the hospital. But he remained were he was, tearing his eyes away from the group of cops and hospital workers, gaze roaming across the faces of the people who had come out of their houses and night clubs to stare at the scene.

Ryan's gaze stopped on one group of teenagers and he felt his body tense; Luke Ward, Holly Fisher and several other kids from Harbor High were pushing their way through the crowd, trying to get a good look at whatever was happening ahead. Seth followed Ryan's gaze and groaned. "This is just great." He mumbled. Summer lifted her head, trying to see what they were staring at.

Luke and Holly managed to get through the crowd; Holly was laughing, leaning against Luke, who made no move to hide the fact that he was grabbing her ass. Luke peered at the ambulance, his gaze settling on Ryan, Seth and Summer; when he saw the three of them, his face seemed to pale slightly, as though he knew the reason for the ambulance had to do with Marissa. With Holly in tow, he headed in their direction; Ryan tensed even more and Seth could see his fingers curl into a fist.

"What's going on?" Luke questioned. "Where's Marissa?" No one answered and Holly didn't seem to sense the urgency in the situation.

Holly looked at Summer and rolled her eyes. "You know, I don't think I'd ever been drunk enough to be seen with Seth Cohen." She said, words slurring, as she looked at the dark haired girl. Summer didn't have the energy or the heart to snap off a retort and averted her tear filled eyes, looking back at the ambulance.

"What happened to Marissa?" Luke questioned, eyes focused on Ryan, ignoring Holly's attempt to start a fight. "What happened Ryan?"

Ryan glared at him. "She ODed, all right?" He snapped and Seth was worried that Holly wasn't going to be the only one trying to start a fight. "Why do you even care?" There was so much he wanted to do to Luke, so much he had wanted to do since the second he had seen him and Holly in the nightclub. Everything that was wrong with Marissa, everything that ever upset her or broke her heart was because of him and Ryan was so wrapped up in anger that he couldn't even move close enough to throw a punch.

Luke's eyes grew wide and Holly looked amused; Summer glared at the blonde and the blonde just glared back. "Oh my God." He looked back at the ambulance, which had finally been put in gear. "Why? Is she all right?" Luke looked concerned, even Ryan had to admit that.

Ryan was trying to think of the cruelest way to let Luke knew that it was all his fault when Holly giggled. "I knew she was going to crack eventually. Serves her right, that crazy bitch." She remarked.

Summer pulled away from Seth and punched Holly across the face so fast that no one even had time to see it coming. Holly cried out in surprise, holding onto her lip, stumbling to the ground; Summer was on top of her the instant she hit the dirt, hitting her in the face again. "Don't talk about Marissa that way." She hissed in between slaps.

Holly was yelling whatever would come out of her mouth and trying to push Summer off of her but it was no use; the stress of the past few days had caught up with Summer and she was talking out all her fear and grief on the person that had been one of the main causes for it. Hell, maybe she'd take Luke on afterward.

"Summer, Summer, that's enough." Seth said, stepping forward and grabbing her around the shoulders. She wouldn't budge and he looked up at Luke and Ryan, who seemed surprised by the events unfolding.

Holly slapped Summer in the face and grabbed several locks of jet black hair in her fingers, tugging as roughly as she could. Summer cried out when sharp flashes of pain coursed through her head and kneed Holly in the ribs, knocking the air of her chest. Holly let go of the hair she had been unsuccessfully trying to put out and feebly slapped Summer in the face. Her last blow caught in her mouth, the expensive ring (a present from daddy) on her finger splitting her lip; Holly was proud of herself. Summer had already managed to split her lips and break her nose, it was about damn time she got in a shot.

Summer wrapped her hands around Holly's neck and starting jerking the blonde up and down, banging her head into the dirt. At least the rage blackouts were good for something. Holly gagged and attempted to pry Summer's fingers away from her neck but Summer only tightened her grip.

Ryan noticed Summer's attack had gone from nearly harmless cat-fight to something that could wind Summer in jail for first-degree murder. The police officers still on the scene noticed as well and were quickly heading in their direction, shouting something in Spanish that only Seth could understand. Ryan grabbed Summer beneath her armpits and hauled her off Holly, though she wasn't too keen on releasing the girl from her death grip; Holly had to pry Summer's fingers away from her neck and when she was finally released, she flopped down in the dirt and starting coughing. Luke knelt down beside her and Holly gingerly touched her neck.

"You bitch," Holly said, coughing, glaring at Summer. "My lawyer is going to be in touch with you." Her voice was strained and harsh.

Summer seemed to hang in Ryan's arms, her knees still touching the dirt. She grinned. "I'm looking forward to it."

Seth smiled as well. "Rage blackouts." He said, as though that explained everything.

The police finally reached the teenagers and as soon as Holly saw them, she flopped back down on the ground and moaned. Summer rolled her eyes. "Officer," Holly choked out. "This girl assaulted me." Her words were completely unnecessary, since any idiot could tell by her bleeding lips, broken nose, bruised cheeks and swollen neck that she had been assaulted.

However, the police officers on the scene weren't exactly the brightest on the force and one of them turned to face Summer. "Is this true?" He questioned and Summer nodded. "Why did you assault this young woman?" Summer expected him to pull out one of those dinky little notepads and take her statement.

"She insulted my friend." Summer answered, glaring at Holly to let her know that next time she insulted Marissa no one was going to be around to protect her.

Holly narrowed her eyes. "I'm pressing charges!" She cried, her voice cracking. "She's dangerous. I want her locked up." She raised an eyebrow as she looked at the police officer, daring him to deny her wishes.

Seth looked worried; he'd heard stories about Mexican prisons, there was no telling what could happen to Summer if she forced to spend the night in one. "Officer, I don't think that's necessary..." He began but the officer in charge didn't see his point of view.

"A fight as severe as this one is taken very seriously down here." He said, reaching for the metal handcuffs hanging from his belt. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to place you under arrest."

Summer untangled herself from Ryan's arms and jumped to her feet. "You can't arrest me!" She cried. "I didn't do anything wrong! In New Port I'd get a medal or something for beating up Holly!" Holly narrowed her eyes.

The officer grabbed Summer roughly, not very pleased by her outburst and snapped the first cuff around her wrist. "I'd give you the Miranda rights, but down here you don't have them." He said, cuffing her other wrist. Summer attempted to pull away but the metal bit into her wrists and she sighed, glaring down at Holly. Holly was still playing the injured victim, leaning against Luke's chest and gingerly wiping the blood away from her nose.

Seth stepped forward, putting his hand on Summer's shoulder. "You can't take her away." He pleaded.

The officer glared at him. "You can join her," he posed, "Or you can bail her out in the morning. Fifty dollars."

"Fifty dollars!" Summer shouted. "That's all I'm worth?" The officer didn't answer, dragging her toward the police car.

Seth's eyes went wide; this was really happening, Summer was really getting arrested. On top of Marissa almost dying, this was the night from hell. "Don't worry Summer!" He called. "We'll get you out."

The officer opened the back door and shoved Summer into the police car; once she was inside, he got into the driver's seat and put the keys in the ignition. Summer peered out the window, her eyes focused on Seth, who looked absolutely heartbroken. She looked over at Holly, who offered her a sly grin and wiggled her fingers in an innocent wave.

Summer narrowed her eyes. That Holly Fisher was going to pay for this.

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Seth watched the police cruiser with Summer in the backseat pull away with a feeling of utter helplessness. He turned to Ryan. "We can't just stand her and let her get arrested."

"She's already been arrested, Seth." Ryan pointed out. Seth looked at him, his helplessness showing in his eyes and he wished he could take back his words. "We'll get her out in the morning."

Seth bit his bottom lip. "We don't have fifty dollars." He pointed out, his voice rising. "I can't believe Summer's going to jail. I've heard stories about Mexican jails, Ryan, they're not decent places."

Ryan sighed and put a comforting hand on Seth's shoulder. "Don't worry, Seth, she'll be all right. We'll call your parents or something."

"I'm just really worried about her Ryan." Seth said, ignoring the fact that Holly and Luke were still kneeling in the dirt. Summer wasn't as tough as she wanted everyone to think, she was just a girl protecting her friend, a girl who couldn't eat a taco without breaking it, who was still afraid of the dark. Seth wished he was with Summer now, wished this had never happened.

Holly let Luke help her to her feet. "Seth Cohen worried about Summer Roberts." She said. "How nauseating."

Seth looked over at her. "You'd better be careful, Holly, they're aren't any cops around anymore." He attempted to look as tough as Summer had but Holly just rolled her eyes. "Ryan could totally take you." He added.

"Let's go to the hospital with Marissa." Ryan said, ignoring Seth's comment. "We can call your parents from there." Seth nodded in agreement. "Oh, Holly, I'd tell people those bruises on your neck or hickeys. At least you'd still have dignity that way." He said, grinning slightly.

Both Holly and Luke glared at them as they headed in the direction the ambulance had gone nearly ten minutes before. "I hate them." Holly mumbled.

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Summer lifted her feet and banged on the wire mesh separating the back of the police car from the front. The officer had been ignoring everything she had been saying for the past five minutes and she figured this was the only way to get some attention. The man in the driver's seat continued to stare straight ahead, attempting to ignore her banging, which only made her hit the wire harder. If she had learned one thing in New Port, it was that being obnoxious often got you the places that being polite couldn't.

"If you keep that up," The man snapped finally, "you'll be in prison for as long as I can keep you."

Summer lowered her feet and narrowed her eyes, leaning forward. "You can't arrest me." She said. "I know my rights, I'm friends with someone who's dad is a lawyer." She paused; did she really admit that she was friends with Seth Cohen? After seeing the look on his face as she was thrown into the police car, she couldn't believe that she was anything but friends with him; he wasn't that bad and he had always been there for her since they had left New Port.

"Well, he's not here now, is he?" The officer questioned. Summer didn't know how to respond. "Look, don't make this worse then it already is; public fighting is a serious offense."

Summer sighed and leaned back against the seat. "I can't believe this." She grumbled. "I cannot believe I'm going to jail."

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The jail closet to where they had found Marissa and where Summer had attacked Holly was the Tijuana Sheriff's station; the building was brick and nondescript, surrounded by a handful of police cars. Summer peeked out the window at the building, noting that there were bars over every inch of space that wasn't brick; she wondered how many other 'criminals' (she wasn't a criminal, she had decided) were located inside and she figured that the number was probably high. This was Tijuana after all.

The officer parked his cruiser, stepped out of the driver's seat and opened her door. Summer stepped outside and the man grabbed her arm tightly, leading her toward the entrance of the building. "Just for the record, I'm not taking any public showers." She said as they stepped inside. "And I'm not taking any naked prison pictures either." The officer raised an eyebrow. "I've seen _Chicago_."

There was a pot-belled, middle-aged, balding man standing behind the front desk and he looked up when Summer and her police escort entered the building. He looked at Summer with interest and she narrowed her eyes at him. "She's just going to be here for the night." The officer told the other man in Spanish. "Tell him your name." He commanded, speaking to Summer in English.

"Summer Roberts." She answered primly. "And if you try anything with me I'll kick your ass and then get my lawyer to justify it." The officer laughed and the fat man joined in, though he didn't understand anything she had said.

The officer led Summer down a gray cement hallway with holding cells on either side; each cell at least one person inside, many had at least three and Summer cringed at the thought of spending the night with any of them.

They stopped in front of the last cell, which held a portly woman and a skinner woman, both in gogo boots and short leather skirts. The officer unlocked the cell and pushed Summer inside; she looked at the two woman, who glared at her and sat down on the floor where she was, as far away from the two hookers as she could get. "You'd better get me out of this, Cohen." She mumbled. "Or I'll kill you."

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Kirsten Cohen's eyes fluttered up at the shrill ringing of her cell phone, coming from her night table. Her eyes found the flashing numbers on the bedside clock and she groaned; it was almost three in the morning.

Her husband, Sandy, was awake as well. "Don't answer it, it's your father." He grumbled, holding her tightly against his chest so she couldn't pull away and retrieve her phone.

"Not even my father calls in the middle of the night." Kirsten said, leaning forward and snatching her cell phone off the night table. She looked at the caller ID. "Oh my God, it's a hospital." She said, sitting bolt upright and flipping her phone open.

Sandy sat up as well, sleep chased from his mind; his first thought was of Seth and he prayed his son was the one doing the calling, not the reason. "Hello?" Kirsten answered, her worry apparent in her voice.

"Mom," Sandy could hear his son's voice through the speaker. "It's me."

"Seth, are you all right?" Kirsten questioned, holding the phone closer to Sandy so he could hear the conversation as well. "What's the matter?"

"I'm okay Mom." Seth assured her. "It's Marissa; she over-dosed on pain killers," Kirsten drew in her a sharp breath, "and now we're at the hospital."

Sandy leaned closer, his cheek pressed against Kirsten's. "Is she all right?" Seth told them that she was. "Did you call her parents?"

"We didn't have the number and we only had enough for one phone call." Seth told them. "We figured you could call them. Plus, there's another problem."

"Is Ryan all right?" Kirsten questioned, sounding just as worried about him as she had for her own son. Sandy couldn't help but smile inwardly, Ryan was like a son to his wife, something he had hoped for all along.

There was a pause. "Yeah." Seth said and whispered something to someone standing beside him. "Hi Mr. and Ms. Cohen," came Ryan's voice for a moment, as though assuring them that Seth's words were correct. "Summer's in jail, she was arrested."

Sandy was amazed. "For what?" Summer wasn't exactly the nicest girl but she wasn't the type to get arrested.

"She beat up Holly Fisher."

Kirsten raised an eyebrow. "Holly Fisher? I thought she was going to Tijuana." A thought suddenly dawned upon her. "Oh my God, Seth, are you down in Mexico?"

Another pause. "Yeah, sorry, but can I explain later? My dollar's almost up and I need you to send some money down here so we can bail Summer out of jail."

"Forget it," Kirsten said, "We're coming down there. And we're bringing Marissa's parents. That poor girl."

Sandy took the phone from Kirsten. "Stay at the hospital, Seth." He commanded. "We have a lot of talking to do when we get down there."

Seth agreed and the call was ended. Kirsten looked at her husband. "Poor Marissa, why would she do such a thing?" Her heart tugged at the thought of that sweet girl trying to kill herself.

"I guess we'll know soon enough." Sandy said, slipping out of bed. "Get dressed, we've got a long drive."

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"So, are you guys hookers?" Summer questioned, looking at the two women, who were staring at her. She wasn't sure it was the brightest question to ask but after twenty minutes of silence, she felt the need to say something.

The skinner woman, who looked American with Spanish decent, glared at the teenager for a moment. "Yeah." She answered finally, voice carrying a hint of a New York accent. "You got a problem?"

Summer shook her head quickly. "No, of course not." She assured them. "I love _Pretty Woman_."

There was silence again. Summer stared down at her feet, shivering slightly from the chilly air inside the cell and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Jail was boring, and she was sitting on a nasty floor, covered with stuff she didn't even want to think about. She just wanted to go home, to be with Marissa and Seth (yes, that's right, Seth Cohen); or, she wanted to be at the hospital, beside Marissa's side, making sure her friend got everything she needed.

"Where ya from, kid?" The New Yorker, who was certainly no Julia Roberts, questioned and Summer looked up.

"New Port."

The hooker raised an eyebrow. "New Port, ah? What'cha doing in a place like this?" She questioned when a smirk. "Daddy's credit card run low?"

Summer narrowed her eyes. "I beat up one of my ex-friends." She answered. "She's probably in the hospital now."

The smirk on the hooker's face disappeared. "Impressive." She remarked. She pulled something out of her pocket: a deck of cards. "Poker?"

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"I hope Summer's okay." Seth said, looking over at Ryan. They were sitting in Marissa's hospital room, waiting for her to wake up, watching the sun rise through the window. "Do you think she's doing okay?"

Ryan nodded, but he was completely focused on Marissa; she looked so fragile, so helpless and he hated himself for allowing something like this to happen to her. "Yeah. I'm sure she's having a great time." He answered off-handedly.

Seth raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Ryan wouldn't have heard him anyway.

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"It's pretty cool." Summer agreed, as she shuffled the deck of cards. "You just walk up and ask for a cup of coffee and they give it to you."

The skinny hooker, Gina, nodded in appreciation. "Wow, my high school didn't even have a cafeteria."

Summer was sitting on the floor in a tight circle with the hookers Gina and Jasmine, dealing out their fourth round of poker. The sun was raising in the sky, she could see it through the bars on the window, and she prayed that Seth was going to keep his promise about getting her out of here in the morning. She didn't think she could take another night of poker on a nasty floor, no matter how nice the hookers were. Besides, she was worried sick about Marissa and, whether she would admit it or not, was actually missing Seth's company.

Jasmine said something in Spanish and Gina nodded her head in agreement. Summer decided not to ask what she had said and dealt out the cards, shifting her weight and wrinkling her nose when her bare thighs stuck to the floor for a moment. "I can't wait to go home." She mumbled.

"You're lucky." Gina said as she looked at her hand. "We're stuck here until the weekend."

Summer looked up. "That sucks." She said. So did her hand. "Cohen is supposed to come bail me out."

"Cohen, you talk about him a lot. Is he your boyfriend?" Gina questioned and Summer felt her cheeks redden.

"No, he's not." Summer answered quickly. "He's just...Cohen." She shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno, he's not that bad. I've known him my whole life but I've never realized just how sweet and funny he really is."

Gina raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you like him." She picked up another card from the deck.

Summer shook her head. "No, it's not like that." She sighed. "It's complicated."

"Well, you'd better not waste too much time figuring it out," Gina advised. "That was always my mistake; by the time I figured out a guy wasn't a complete ass, it was too late."

Summer looked at her; she'd never thought that Seth would lose interest with her. He'd been in love with her for ten years, it was something she had always known and always counted on. But she had seen him with that girl from Pittsburgh, Anna, and they had looked pretty close. "Maybe you're right." She said quietly.

But Summer wasn't even quite sure that was anything to make up her mind about. Cohen was just Cohen after all. But if this trip to Mexico had taught her anything, it was that things can change and maybe Seth had become something more.

Summer sighed and folded her hand. Impossible.

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It was nearly ten in the morning by the time the Cohens arrived with Julie and Jimmy Cooper in tow. Jimmy hurried into his daughter's hospital room, kneeling by her side and taking her hand; she had only woken once, about an hour ago, for five minutes but Ryan took that as a sign that she really was going to be all right. And he told Marissa's father this as they stood by the bed, with Julie standing on the other side, not looking near as worried as Jimmy.

Seth stood in the doorway with his parents, steeling himself for the lecture he was surely about to receive. "I'm very disappointed in you, Seth." Sandy began, glaring at his son. "Why did you lie to us? You've never lied before."

Seth shrugged. "I knew you wouldn't let us go." He pointed out and Kirsten chimed in with a 'damn right' before Sandy held up a hand to keep her from shouting anything else.

"Do you have any idea what could have happened? And we had no idea where you were? And Marissa-" Sandy continued.

"Marissa would have tried to kill herself anywhere." Seth said, keeping his voice low so that Marissa's parents didn't hear her. "The important thing is that we were here to make sure that she didn't." He raised an eyebrow; his parents couldn't argue with that.

Kirsten cleared her throat. "While that may be true, the main thing is that you left the country without telling us. We were worried sick." She added, looking just as worried as she said.

Seth couldn't help but smile; he was lucky to have parents as great as his, who were the complete opposite of Julie Cooper. "Though I hate to interrupt your yelling, do you think we can go to get Summer? I told her I'd be there in the morning." Now it was his turn to look worried, something that didn't escape Sandy's attention.

Sandy nodded and turned to face his wife. "You stay here with Ryan and Seth and I will go get Summer out of prison." He said and Kirsten nodded. He and Seth headed down the hallway, toward the exit. "By the way, you owe me fifty bucks."

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Summer looked up when the officer that had arrested her walked over to the cell she was sharing with Gina and Jasmine and unlocked the door. "Okay, Miss Roberts, you're free to go." He said, letting the door swing outward.

Summer handed her cards back to Gina and said, "It was great to meet you guys." As happy as she was to be leaving, she did have to admit that she would miss the two hookers. They made sure prison wasn't as bad as she had heard and Gina had made her realize a thing or two about her strange relationship with Seth.

Gina gave her a small hug and said, "Take care kid and if you're ever in Tijuana, look me up."

"I don't think I'll be in Mexico for a long time." Summer said, standing up and smiling at her cell mates. She bid them goodbye and followed the officer toward the front of the building.

Summer was shocked at how happy she was to see Seth, standing in front of the desk with his father, even more surprised by the huge smile that spread across her face; did this mean that she really did have feelings for him? She didn't give herself the chance to think as she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, catching him off guard. Seth was surprised by her actions but managed to return the hug nonetheless.

"What was that for?" He asked when Summer pulled away.

Summer wasn't quite sure how to answer. "I'm just happy to be out of here, that's all." She answered quickly. "It doesn't have to be that complicated, Cohen." She pointed out.

Sandy finished paying Summer's bail and the three of them headed toward the car. "I just thought you were happy to see me, that's all." He muttered as he sat in the backseat beside her.

Summer looked over at him. "I am happy to see you." She said, her voice low, as though she didn't want anyone to hear what she was saying. Seth looked up. "How's Marissa?" She asked before he had the chance to say anything.

"She's going to be all right." Seth answered. "She woke up once and asked for you; it seemed to cheer her up to know that you went to jail for beating up Holly, you jailbird." Seth grinned and elbowed Summer playfully in the ribs.

Summer couldn't but smile; Seth wasn't so bad and he made her laugh. And Marissa was going to be okay...or at least she wasn't dead.

"Well," Summer began as they headed back toward the hospital. "At least we have a good story to tell."


End file.
